Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees? I use the word “successful” because I am talking about people we are on their own. They limit their work to earning just enough income to pay the bills. They want to earn nothing more so that they will have more free time to pursue their passions.

The reason I decided to write this particular post and begin it with the question is I just finished reading a post by brokeGIRLrich titled: The Guilt of Not Working Enough. She is enjoying a Summer of less work. She was thinking about guilt for enjoying herself so much after hearing of presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s comments. He spoke about how Americans who want to make more should work harder. Or in other words work longer hours if you want to get ahead.

After reading her post I just had to comment:

“Now in early retirement #2 I am not working at all now and have no guilt about it. As to those who choose to work less regardless of FI status, I say more power to them if they can make it work financially.

I always admired the successful Threshold Earner who worked at what they wanted for only as much as they needed and then did the things that really mattered to them. My Nephew currently works at a T-Shirt shop in Venice Beach so he can be there to surf all he wants to.

Some say slacker, I say he has his priorities where his should be, it is his life. A guy I met here in CO works as a ranch hand when needed. He is super educated and smart. He loves animals, the ranching/farming lifestyle/culture, and spends his free time Mountain Biking and training for Mountain Bike races. Who is to lay out any guilt on living a free life except those who benefit from a person’s full 40+ workweek of employment slavery. I am actually proud to be what some politicians think of me and my frugal early retired ways, a drag on the (their) economy.”

We Are Not All The Same

Not everyone wants to devote a majority of their life to a career, work mega hours, save, budget, invest, and then retire when they finally reach financial independence. Just so they can then pursue their life’s passions. In some ways I envy those who can create a lifestyle that they never have to retire from. A life which would include living their life as threshold earner, or what others might call slacker lifestyle.

To me they are a true early retiree. They actually do everything folks like myself that went the career route did to get to early retirement. But they do it in real-time while living what I will call a retirement lifestyle. It isn’t exactly as I do now, retire early and often. But it seems to me to be a passion driven lifestyle as much as mine is. I am cool with looking at this as another form of early retirement.

Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees? Supporting Argument

Budget–

Being a Threshold Earner who limits work and income to have more time to pursue their passions must live within their means to stay successful. Running low on money means working more hours which ultimately takes time from their pursuits.

Saving–

Threshold Earners have to pay bills and save at least a little money to go towards their passions. Nothing is absolutely free because there will always be things required to do it, classes to take, travel required, etc.

Frugality–

Living as a Threshold Earner certainly takes a minimalist approach to life. You probably can’t make a mortgage payment on a McMansion or payments on a Mercedes living a Threshold Earner lifestyle. Money is spent with purpose.

Goals and Plans–

Although my commented example of my surfing loving nephew may look like he is just living for today and maybe he is, his living what I am calling in this post an Early Retiree lifestyle today working and surfing doesn’t require much more than short-term planning but hopefully he has gained the financial skills to extend goals and plans longer-term as his passions change, his needs increase and he grows older.

Getting Ahead- What’s That?

Perhaps if Jeb Bush and most others saw “getting ahead” and “making more” as being more than just about money then we may all plan and set goals to find a way to get that dream lifestyle that we strive for. It shouldn’t have to come at the end of 20 to 40 years working “more hours” which isn’t for everyone and a very long road to travel. There is more than one way to freedom and a purpose/passion lived life.

That said, threshold earning as early retirement is probably more of an anomaly and only works in theory because life has a way of getting more complicated as time goes on. I have to think that at some point making more than you just need to get by and catching waves every day will come and my nephew will have to get serious about saving for emergencies and investing something for old age.

It works for a while when young and would definitely work after you have put in some career time and are at least near financial independence when deciding to go the threshold earner as early retiree route.

But what do I know? Maybe that is just my hang-up, needing to have a bank account with extra cash to be a chill dude and live life free of materialistic trappings from a young age through old age. I do envy those like my nephew who can pull it off and not have to dwell many years in corporate hell as I did.

In Closing

Living as a Threshold Earner isn’t for everyone but then again that is what the journey to financial independence and early retirement is all about. It is different for everyone and specific to their unique situation and goals. For some that means threshold earning through life to surf, ski, mountain bike, travel the world, etc. making just enough to get by and a life you don’t have to retire from, and for others it is working and saving enough to reach our financial independence goals and then pursuing our passions early enough in life to enjoy it.

So what do you think? Are Successful Threshold Earners Early Retirees?